News

November 30, 2010

Mexico Man Makes '5X The Money'

A Mexico man didn’t believe his eyes when he scratched off a $5,000 prize on a Missouri Lottery Scratchers ticket. Ken Peterson, 41, recalled tossing the ticket “off to the side,” because he was certain that he had misread the prize amount.

It all started on Nov. 29 at Hickman’s Food Stores, 500 W. Jackson St., in Mexico.

“I stopped to get some donuts, and I thought that I’d buy a few Lottery tickets before I walked out,” said Peterson.

He purchased $20 worth of his favorite game, “5X The Money,” from the vending machine, and then he returned to his vehicle.

“On one ticket, I won $2,” he shared. “On another ticket, I won $20. Then, I scratched that one off, and it said $5,000.”

Assuming that something was wrong with the ticket, he set it aside and “finished scratching the rest of them.”

When the first-time Lottery winner gave the ticket a second glance, he realized that “everything matched.”

“So, I went back in the store, and I asked them, ‘Does this mean what I think it means?’ he said. “They checked it, and they said, ‘Yes.’”

Next, he called his fiancé, Tonja, to share the news – initially, leaving out a few details.

“I said, I bought some Lottery tickets, and I won $22, and I’ll tell you what the other one is when I get home,” he shared with a laugh. “But, then I ended up telling her on the phone.”

His bride-to-be was “excited about it.”

The couple, who are planning a June wedding, added that they are both feeling “pretty overwhelmed” by their early Christmas present.

Peterson explained that the win “couldn’t have come at a better time.” He plans to pay bills and “help my mom and dad out.”

"5X The Money," a $2 game with a top prize of $25,000, officially began on Nov. 23. To date, six top prizes, as well as thousands of prizes ranging from $2 to $5,000, remain in play.